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unconditional (2019-on going)

Longing to fit in, unconditional is a series of portraits of strangers I encountered on the street. Approaching strangers with care and empathy across social distances, strict boundaries and barriers, I have never been feeling so far away from another human being. It’s a mark of how divine our society has become, that it feels almost unreachable to be oneself in their own skin, in order to be accepted.

Using the camera as a means for therapy and connection to reveal a gentle expression of tenderness, shown by acknowledging someone else's true self-worth through portraiture, the images have been healing my loneliness, and hopefully of many others’. Capturing the fleeting moments of grace that offer insights of beauty, imperfection, confidence and awkwardness, the images aimed to reveal people in their full human complexity, both in celebration and with their scars.

Reflecting critically on what it means to be human, the series continues exploring the theoretical question of what is portraiture in the context of contemporary art, and its relevance to the current culture of image.